Death Upon the Sea
by Oreana Galena
Summary: Jin and Touya are invited to a cruise by Kurama and Yuske only to have strange entities follow them aboard… [Jin x Touya] [Yuske x Kurama] [PG13]


_**Author's Notes**_: So the October month slipped right by me. Sorry about that guys. I had promised to try and do another one-shot for the season. **If it's not finished in time, I apologize**. It was intended to be for the October month, but work was a total ass (I don't do mornings…especially not at six AM), having morning sickness doesn't help either, and I didn't get it finished in time.

**PLEASE DO NOT** complain about the length of this one-shot. If you cannot find the ability to patiently read through it, then I apologize—find something else to read as I have obviously not held your interest. If you are concerned about the attention span of other readers, then please don't. I don't need people with ADD reading such a story. (lol)

If you feel there are any OOC attitudes or something about their attitudes annoy you, please either deal with it or leave and don't bother pointing it out to me. I don't care if they seem OOC to you. It was the only way to bend them so the story wouldn't appear boring.

As far as the second coupling choice, don't whine about that either. I know Yuske is destined to be with Keiko, but this is just my view—it's not going to be written into the already finished anime, so get a grip, please.

Sorry about sounding nasty and or demanding, but I am trying to write such things down so if I DO get whiney remarks about it, I can point to the AN and ask if they read it. :-)

_**Disclaimer**_: Yu Yu Hakusho's characters were created by Yoshihiro Togashi. I do not own them nor do I profit from them.

_**Description**_: Jin and Touya are invited to a cruise by Kurama and Yuske only to have strange entities follow them aboard… (**Jin x Touya**) (**Yuske x Kurama**) (**PG-13**)

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The suitcase within Jin's possession landed harshly upon the king sized bed within the cabin the wind shinobi lived within, opening it up quickly to throw a bunch of belongings within it he never bothered to sort through. The clothing hanging out of the rather large case annoyed Touya slightly as he watched Jin toss his items left and right upon the bed they shared together. The ice demon slid off of the side of the bed to try and tidy up the mess Jin was making.

"It's called folding, Jin," Touya scoffed slightly as he did just that with the clothes spilling out of the suitcase.

"I am sorry, but I am too excited to care to!" said Jin as he ran over to the windows near his bed to push them open to let in the morning breeze. The subtle curtains brushing through his wild hair, he smiled from ear to ear before turning his attention back to packing. "It's very rare that we get to go to human world, and Yuske is inviting us on this human cruise!"

"Well, you're not going to be able to get there without wrinkled clothes if you keep throwing them in such a pile on the bed," the ice demon lectured. Touya had already packed up his belongings neatly in his bags for the week long cruise.

The two demons had been invited to go on a week long cruise with the earth bound half demon couple Kurama and Yuske. It was more of Kurama's idea than Yuske's, as Yuske would rather be training or sitting at home watching TV, but Kurama felt that the former spirit detective could use a break from all of that for a change.

Jin finally tossed in the last item he wanted to take with him once Touya finished folding the last article of clothing for him before closing the suitcase and locking it close. "Alright, alright, everything is good! Let's go!"

Touya merely rolled his eyes as he got up off of the bed to get his own belongings so they could head out of Makai and to the portal to Human World. He had to rush out the door quickly as Jin was nearly out of sight as soon as the ice demon made it off of the porch. "Good Gods, wait up, Jin!" Touya shouted as he tried to catch up.

--

The large boat sat at the dock before the crowd waiting to get on board. Everyone was boarding at the moment, and time was running low. Pulling back his green jacket's sleeve, Yuske took a peek at the time on his wristwatch with a slight grumble at it being nearly 5:00 PM. "Where are those two?" He asked eagerly. "They have ten minutes before we depart."

Kurama gently placed his hand upon Yuske's lower arm so the half demon would stop looking at his watch. "Be patient. I am sure they will come soon enough."

Yuske sighed with a roll of his eyes, pocketing his hands within his jacket.

"Jin was excited when I spoke to him, so I have no doubt they will be here soon enough," Kurama continued to explain further.

When the boat's horn sounded a third time, Jin's voice could be heard shouting over it. "Hey! Hey, we're here! We're coming!" The wild redhead yelled as he hurried towards Yuske and Kurama with Touya trailing behind him. Making it before the other couple, Jin caught his breath with a slight chuckle. "Phew, we made it!"

"It's about time!" Yuske scolded slightly. "I thought you were going to have to fly to the boat once it departed!"

Kurama raised his hand to try and silence his rowdy partner. "Don't mind him. Shall we get going?" The fox demon asked as he pointed over his shoulder at the large ship waiting behind them at the dock.

Jin nodded eagerly as he hefted his suitcase over his shoulder without a problem as Touya did the same. The two former shinobi members followed behind Kurama and Yuske as they boarded the boat via the ramp placed out for them. The normally slowly beating heart of the wind demon was beating rapidly with excitement as his sandaled feet hurried up the wooden entrance ramp, making it through the iron door before anybody to see the intricate interior of the ship.

The cruise ship appeared very high class. Chandeliers lined the main room of its ceilings and chimed with the slight movement of the boat thanks to the gentle waves underneath it. Outside and foreign bought shrubbery was bought and planned within intricately designed pots, which lined the beginning and ending of any staircase and or doorway entrances. Jin probably spun around looking at the ceiling for hours before bothering to gaze at the rest of the ship's lower deck with childlike wonder.

"It's like a mansion on the sea," he said mostly to himself though the others could catch his hushed tone all too well. "So where are we sleeping?"

Yuske pointed to the counter sitting within the center of the main room of the boat. "We have to register for a room number and such there. It's like any hotel—but on the water," Yuske remarked with a slight movement of his hands as he sometimes had a bad habit of talking with them.

Kurama merely kept on smiling, releasing a brief chuckle within his throat before edging Yuske forward with his hand against his back. "We better go ahead and get a room unless we want to be the last ones to get one."

The wind demon stood in the back of the group as they eventually lined up to get the keys and location of the rooms they both would be staying at. He kept his heavy suitcase before him as he looked around for something exciting to do, not enjoying the wait of the line so far. He gazed about the boat with his ears twitching slightly at the sound of every little noise, which caressed them. His nose eventually catching a smell within the air that teased his senses, Jin grew hungry at the scent, which appeared to be wafting throughout the halls. Grinning from ear to ear, he looked down at his partner who was standing in front of him.

"Do you smell that?" Jin asked eagerly.

Touya looked slightly over his shoulder, up at the towering demon. "It's apple pie with a mixture of other food—what of it?"

"And it's coming from over there!" Jin exclaimed excitedly, pointing through one of the arched doorways littering the main hall of the ship. Dropping his luggage excitedly on the floor, Jin hurried off out of the line to chase after the scent.

"Jin, wait—dammit!" Touya swore as he grabbed the suitcase his partner was carrying previously so it would not land on his feet. In attempts to try and keep it off of himself, the shorter ice master was unable to find the strength to carry his things and Jin's as well, causing him to fall on the floor and underneath the two suitcases.

Kurama and Yuske both couldn't help but watch Jin take off with a surprised expression upon their faces before bothering to help Touya out of the avalanche of belongings, which soon came pouring out of Jin's carrier once it opened—the latch was faulty and had been for years.

"Somebody go stop him or at least watch him!" Touya demanded with a grumble.

"We're next in line, so you get the room, Yuske," Kurama said softly, gazing at the equally annoyed Touya. "I will go bring Jin back here." The fox demon took off down the main hallway after the wild wind master as quickly as he could. Making his way down to the large mahogany carved double doors, Kurama pushed them open to follow after Jin's demonic scent with the help of his own acute senses.

He had to push his way past several people just to make it down to the dinning hall where Jin had eventually stopped. Kurama made his way through the next set of wooden doors into the extravagant dinning area, which was also a small ballroom. The human food teased his senses as he continued to excuse himself all the way to the wind master, who was staring at the buffet filled with some of the items he liked. Kurama gently placed his hands upon Jin's shoulders to catch the demon's attention. Once Jin gazed into his eyes, he managed a soft smile to him. "It is wise never to take off like that on such a big ship."

"Sorry, it's just I haven't had this kind of food in thousands of years," Jin expressed clearly and aloud, causing some people nearby to look at the demon, which they couldn't see thanks to lacking the ability to do so, in an odd way.

Kurama's face dropped at hearing Jin say that aloud. He laughed nervously, placing one hand behind his head while raising the other in defense at everyone's shocked and confused reaction to the demon. "Uuh, heh—he was just joking! Pay him no mind!" When everyone went back about their business, Kurama quickly turned back around to Jin with a shake of his head. "Don't talk like that around humans. Remember, they cannot see you as a demon. They only see you as a human right now with red hair."

"Sorry," Jin apologized as he grabbed a piece of pie from off of the buffet table.

"Come on, Jin," Kurama urged, grabbing onto his wrist gently to pull him from the dinning room. "We have to get unpacked and situated before doing anything else at the moment."

Kurama led the way out of the dinning room section of the boat, and back down towards the main hall, where he expected Touya and Yuske to be.

--

The doorknob wiggled belonging to Room 130 as Touya had inserted the key to it and worked on unlocking it. "All I am saying is the next time you feel the need to rush off like a starving dog, don't!" He grumbled, continuing on about how Jin acted earlier. "I ended up nearly sitting there in front of a line of people, getting personal with your personals!" Touya continued to complain as he jabbed Jin's chest with his finger before turning around to unpack.

"I haven't eaten decent food like that for years!" Jin reminded his partner as he dragged his suitcase inside of the apartment room carefully with his fingers keeping the lower part of the suitcase up seeing as the lock wouldn't latch. "Everything in Makai tastes rotten and is unappealing to me."

Touya hefted his belongings upon the bed he was going to be taking as his own with a slight grunt. "Next time, try to act as normal as you can. We don't need strange looks every time we enter a room."

Jin headed over to the window they had in their room to open them once he managed to unlatch the lock. The sea breeze rustling through his wild hair prompted a smile upon his face as well as the smell of the salty ocean, which the wind currents would waft to his senses. "Mmm, it looks beautiful out here, Touya. Come and see!" He urged, gazing over at the ice demon from where he was leaning against the windowsill.

Placing the shirt he had in his hands down next to his baggage, Touya made his way over to the opened window to gaze out at the sea stretched before them. He crossed his arms upon the lower part of the windowsill as he did so. "You're right; it is beautiful." The city they had departed from getting smaller in the distance, Touya felt a slight uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, but didn't say a word about it. "The water is very clear here compared to Makai's." His four aquatic bangs getting in his view, Touya tried to run them back into his sky blue hair to keep them from annoying him. "Even for wasteful humans, apparently they do take some pride in their world."

The wind demon watched Touya turn around to head back inside of their room to finish unpacking leaving Jin to just shake his head at the shinobi's words with a brief chuckle to himself. He decided to remain at the window to watch the city reseed further out of view.

Messing with his belongings once more, Touya gazed back over at the window Jin had opened still. _I don't know why I am so nervous—being on a ship with a bunch of humans. I guess the fact that we will be out in the middle of nowhere with limited places to go for seven days puts me on edge slightly._ He shook his head while emitting a soft sigh through his nostrils. _Get over it, Touya; you're being paranoid!_

The room next to the shinobis, Room 131, was occupied by Kurama and Yuske who were working on unpacking—well, mostly Kurama anyways. Yuske was too lazy to care to unpack his belongings as he lain there upon the king sized bed facing the television. "I cannot believe you dragged me along on this trip," Yuske grumbled, overlapping his arms behind his head upon the soft pillow. He was less than enthusiastic still about being on a cruise even if somebody like him could use a vacation from fighting.

Kurama paid Yuske's anger no mind; he merely offered a smile to him while putting his belongings away in one of the nearby dresser drawers. "I don't know why you are so against it, Yuske. At least this is better than being in classes; wouldn't you agree?"

Yuske contorted his face slightly into an 'I don't know' expression before rolling onto his side to grab the remote off of the nightstand. "I guess. I would just rather be slacking at home for the time being."

"You'll get that chance after we are through here for a week," Kurama expressed gently. "Besides, I thought you would want to spend time with Jin seeing as you rarely see him."

"I know, I know," was all the former spirit detective could think to say as he turned on the television to start channel surfing.

As the fox demon continued to shift through his items he brought with him, he suddenly snapped his head up with an alert expression upon his face that almost looked like that of utter terror.

Yuske managed to catch the jerky movements of Kurama, and asked, "What is it?"

"It's nothing," he stated quickly before motioning at Yuske slightly. "Wait right here…!" Making his way to the door, Kurama flew it open to peek down the long hallway stretching from the right to the left before taking a sharp turn right, jogging down to the other hallway, which turned up ahead and headed straight towards a whole new row of rooms on his coming left to gaze down at the eerily empty hallways. _I could have sworn…_ he thought to himself.

A hand coming from behind landed upon the demon's shoulder, spooking him slightly as he looked over at the ice shinobi standing there behind him. "Are you alright?" Touya asked seeing how startled Kurama had suddenly become.

"Yeah—I think so…," he murmured slightly continuing to look about the hallway stretching before him. "Tell me, did you feel some odd energy level and smell something…rancid earlier?"

Touya looked puzzled at Kurama's question before shaking his head. "No, I can't say I did. All I smelt was your fear pheromones, and I heard you dash out of your room rather quickly."

Kurama turned slightly towards the ice demon though keeping his attention down the hallway he was previously glaring down. "Alright…well, I guess we better continue unpacking before going to dinner soon. Dinner starts around seven or so."

Not able to deny the want to look down the hallway as well, Touya did so real quickly before gazing back at Kurama with a brief shrug. "Okay. Jin and I are almost through—well, I am almost through anyways as he won't sit down and help." Placing his hands in his pockets, Touya turned around to head back towards his room.

"Hey, Touya," Kurama began once more, looking out of the corner of his eye.

"What is it?" Touya asked, stopping in his stride to gaze over his shoulder.

"Do me a favor and keep an extra eye out for me," the fox demon almost pleaded as he followed behind Touya and went to his own bedroom without another word on his recent worry.

Touya wasn't sure what got under the fox demon's skin nor did he care to ask as he headed back to Jin, closing the door silently behind him, still baffled about what was going on. The buzzing of the latest wrestling match on television annoyed the ice demon's ears as he made his way into the sleeping area and living area of their mini boat hotel room. Jin was sitting at the foot of the pet watching the match though he only cared for the action, not for who was to win. "Come on," Touya began rather sternly as he knocked his chilly knuckles against the redhead gently. "Let's get ready for dinner tonight."

"So soon?" Jin asked, looking at the clock upon the nightstand nearby. "It's so early though."

"Don't whine," demanded Touya as he grabbed the remote for the TV to turn it off. "Now get ready. You wanted to come on this cruise, you're not going to sit there in front of a television and do nothing!"

Jin merely scrunched up his face in annoyance at the anal ice demon. "I could have at least had it on while getting dressed!"

"Forget it," Touya grumbled, happening to shift his attention at the window to catch something breeze by as he did so. _What the—!_ Putting the white shirt down in his possession, he hurried over towards the window in a brisk walk. His fingers pushing open the window, Touya stuck his head out to look back and forth, confused as to what could have been outside the window just then.

The wind demon merely got to his feet when Touya hurried over towards the window almost randomly to him. "What is the matter?"

Pulling back from the open window, the ice demon scratched his head in confusion. "I just—did you—," Touya stammered as he made his way back over to Jin, pointing at the window. "Did you not see a full bodied figure zip by the window a few seconds ago?"

Sucking in his lower lip, Jin shook his head. "I wasn't looking at the window, so how could I?"

Touya scratched the back of his head, shaking it shortly after as he was baffled by what he briefly saw. "I must be losing it or something. Obviously being out on water does things to my brain."

"What doesn't affect your brain?" Jin inquired jokingly as he shifted through his belongings to pull out his outfit for dinner. Once the outfit was lain out before him on the bed he and Touya would share, he pulled his hooted shirt over his head.

"Ha-ha," Touya chuckled sarcastically at his partner, grabbing up his outfit to head into the bathroom. He couldn't deny the want to be alone for a moment to think about what recently happened, so Touya shut the door to the bathroom to think about it for a moment. The light for the bathroom hung over his head, prompting Touya to turn it on thanks to the hanging chain, which activated the switch. Once it was turned on, the light couldn't help but sway slightly from the tug the ice demon placed within it.

_That was odd_, was all he could think at the moment. _What could have been outside of the boat the size of Jin? Was it just my imagination?_

The bulb within the lamp hanging over Touya's head began to flicker on and off for a moment causing the ice demon to gaze up at it with a cock of his brow. "Why is it doing that?" He asked softly to himself. "Is the bulb not in tight enough?" Seeing as he sadly wasn't tall enough to reach the bulb by foot, he pulled the chair, resting in the corner of the bathroom, under the swinging lamp to see if he could tighten the light bulb to stop the flickering.

Stopping the light from swinging, Touya tried to see if the bulb would tighten anymore only to have the light completely short out. He couldn't help but sigh annoyingly at this. "Great. Some four star cruise we are on. The damn lights won't even work."

The light eventually came back on—starting to flicker once more. As it continued to do so, a low growl could be heard in the background, where the shower stood, momentarily before revealing a demented guard dog's snarling, twisted teeth through the slightly parted shower curtain. His eyes could be seen glowing yellow in the brief moment that the light quickly came on before going off once more. The sound as well as the feel of something watching him caught Touya's quick attention, making him turn around hastily to gaze at the slightly swaying shower curtain.

"Who's there?" He demanded to know, releasing a cold breeze throughout the bathroom. Touya knew that whatever it was came from behind the now slightly wavering shower curtain. He stepped down from the chair he was upon to hurry over towards it. His fingers slowly gripping onto the wavering drape, he eventually threw it back quickly to find nothing there as he thought there was. Utterly confused, he gazed back and forth. "Strange…I could have sworn I heard—!"

A hand landing upon the ice shinobi's shoulder caused him to jump around with his hand upon his rapidly beating heart. Seeing that it was only the wind demon, Touya shook his head in attempts to get himself under control. "Dammit, Jin, you scared me!"

"What are you doing?" Jin went ahead and asked as he was befuddled by Touya's actions about the shower. "You're not planning on taking a bath now, are you?"

"No, no," Touya responded a bit out of breath as he kept his eye on the shower. "I was just…I just thought I heard something is all. I got startled."

"Never knew you to be afraid of mice," Jin chuckled as he figured that was what it probably was.

Touya merely rolled his eyes as he closed the shower curtain once more, lifting his shirt up over his head to toss upon the side of the toilet for a moment. _I am not_, the ice demon said mentally to himself, bracing onto the sides of the sink to keep himself steady. Kurama was right. _Something just isn't right here…_

_ --  
_

Regardless of the foreboding energies and shadows Touya had felt, he got dressed and ready for the dinner that was to be attended. Jin couldn't help but mess with his tie he had about his neck, causing the fabric to rustle and catch Touya's attention within the elevator they were slowly descending within.

"Will you stop messing with your tie?" Touya sighed irritably as he tried to fix it for Jin.

"I can't help it! These things feel like they're choking me," Jin grumbled as he allowed his partner to loosen it for him. The wind master was forced to wear a black tie to the dinner that night. He also had on a white, long sleeve shirt underneath the blue-black vest with black pants to match.

"That's because you rarely wear one," Touya pointed out, getting the tie as loose as it would allow. The ice master had on a tie as well, black in color to match his black suit and pants that covered his white undershirt. "There you go. That should be better for you."

"A little bit," Jin announced, shaking his head slightly.

Touya looked up at Jin with a raise of his brows, expecting to hear something from the wind demon in return for his help. When nothing came out, the ice master sighed. "Yeah, you're welcome."

"Hmm?" Jin hummed, gazing down at Touya before realizing what he meant. "_**OH**_, oh, I am sorry! Thank you." Leaning down, Jin placed a gentle kiss upon the chilly cheek of Touya.

The elevator eventually opening with a subtle ding, the two walked out onto the main floor together with their fingers merely interlocked. The human families and couples headed towards the dinning room open doors to make their way to their tables they were assigned. Women in glittering dresses and fancy attire for men flashed by the two demons, allowing them to take in every detail of this sort of high class society in the human world. The intricately done dresses caught Jin's attention the most, making him want to point, but Touya always grabbed onto his hand to lower it knowing it wasn't polite to do so.

"I know," the ice demon whispered between the two of them as he gazed about the area in hopes of locating Kurama and or Yuske. "Now…where are those two?"

As the two were waiting, Jin suddenly scrunched up his nose and shook his head with an irritable sneeze at a putrid smell that suddenly graced his senses. _Gah! What is that awful smell!_ Jin exclaimed in wonder within his mind, rubbing the back of his hand against his irritated nose. An awful throating sound could be heard within the crowd of people coming in from different areas of the boat to make it for dinner. It made the skin upon the demon crawl as he looked quickly about the hallway they were standing within.

It was as if at that moment, everything else was drowned out by that growing, throating noise—of somebody almost in dire need to breathe, but unable to do so. The sound appeared to be growing louder every second making Jin cover his ears in hopes of it dying down. Touya's chilly hand grabbing onto his wrist caused Jin to slightly jump from the frosty jolt to his system.

"Jin, what is the matter?" Touya inquired quietly, appearing a bit worried as well.

Jin pulled his hands away from his ears, looking about the hall they were within confused as the atrocious sound and smell ceased suddenly. The wind demon flared his nostrils in attempts to try and pick back up the odor he once smelt. "Did you not smell that?" Jin asked his companion with a slight widening of his eyes.

Touya merely shook his head.

"It was—," Jin paused as he rubbed his nose with a slight shake of his head, "—it was awful! It was a nasty smell! It smelt like rotting flesh…!"

That notion troubled Touya further, causing him to search the crowd of humans for the cause. _I don't like this. Something has to be here…but what could possible be so…?_ Swallowing his worry for the time being, the ice demon shook his head up at the towering Jin. "Don't worry about it for now."

The elevator dinging once more, the finely polished doors opened slowly to reveal Kurama and Yuske. Kurama stepped out first as Yuske was hesitant, not wishing to be so formal just for a dinner. The redheaded fox demon was wearing a black, Chinese kimono with a white undershirt and pants on. There were designs of different colors ranging from gold, blue, white, and green. Yuske had been forced to wear a tux, but he probably chose the color as it was dark green in appearance.

Both walked out hand in hand, Yuske a bit pink in the face as he was embarrassed to be seen in such a way even if he knew nobody on board was aware of who he was. Kurama caught Yuske's jitteriness, prompting him to squeeze the former detective's hand.

"What is wrong?" He asked softly between the two of them.

Yuske grumbled slightly as he gazed over at Kurama with his brown eyes. "I feel like a fool in these clothes."

"You too?" Jin intervened as he moved his shoulders slightly as if irritated with his vest. "I am not used to wearing these things."

Touya whacked Jin gently in the chest to make him hush. "That's because you're so used to just lying around in your sweaty, training attire."

Jin grunted with Touya's hand meeting with his chest, causing the wind demon to straighten up a bit. "Well, I guess we might as well get to dinner. I am starving to death!"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Kurama agreed, keeping the same sweet smile upon his features. "Shall we get going?"

"Anything to get me out of this monkey suit faster," Yuske teased as he nodded at Kurama.

Merely chuckling, Kurama wrapped his arm about Yuske's so the two of them could make an entrance together. The two men in black tuxedos at the large double doors opened them for the slowly advancing couple. Jin and Touya remained side by side, watching as the doors were closed behind the two—they only catching a glimpse of what was beyond them.

"Are you ready to go?" Touya asked, nudging Jin gently as he gazed up at the towering giant. "You're not going to run in there and pork out, are you?"

"No!" Jin said defensively before raking his fingers through his wild hair. "No, I promise I won't."

Touya managed to smile as he furrowed his brows at Jin as if to chuckle at his response. "That is all I ask." The ice demon offered his arm for Jin to take as he stood beside his companion. Jin caught the arm offered, and he took it sincerely. "Come; let us go join the others."

As the two demons made it to the double doors next, the two men opened them once more for the oncoming duo. Glittering chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the vast dinning room, which was a circle of a room. The tables were lined with gorgeous plates and wine glasses, which were stuffed neatly with the pure white napkins. Walking towards their table, Jin happened to notice the center of the room had a dance floor. The wind demon eagerly pulled on Touya's arm to point towards it like an eager child.

"Look, Touya!" Jin said quickly as he took in the selective few upon the dance floor already.

Gazing over at the beautiful dancers flowing like graceful doves upon the morning sky, Touya chuckled nervously, "You know I cannot dance well, Jin, so don't even ask it."

Jin hummed softly in disappointment as Touya guided him to where Kurama and Yuske were sitting at a circular table closest to one of the windows. Taking the seat closest to the window, Jin gazed out at the vast sea set before them. "Wow, nothing seen for miles. I never thought water could take up so much."

"That's kind of the point of a cruise," Yuske chuckled as he straightened his tie once more, taking his menu to look at what they had to eat. "We're out in the middle of nowhere."

"Which is such a calming notion," Touya joked as he too picked up his menu. "Alright, Jin, what do you want?"

His elfin ears catching his name, Jin turned and looked down at the menu Touya was holding. "Do they have salads?" Being a wind master and somebody who had to fly, Jin had to carefully regulate his eating or he wouldn't become too big to lift off the ground.

"Yes, they do, but that's appetizer food," Touya felt need to point out. "Don't you want something more than that?"

As everyone tried to decide what they wanted, Kurama's ears caught a sickening, dark chuckle, which made the hairs on his neck stand up. His green eyes shot up over the rim of his menu to look about inconspicuously about the dinning hall for the source of the sound. His elbow nudging into Yuske, he pulled the former spirit detective's attention. "Yuske, do you hear that sound?" He whispered.

Yuske tried to listen over the clanging of glasses and clinking of utensils added with the talkative crowd in the room. He was unable to find the sound Kurama would find disturbing and worth checking out. "No, I don't hear anything but the crowd. Why? What do you hear?"

"Something followed them here," Kurama said between the two of them. "Be cautious."

"Great," Yuske grumbled in a whisper. "They are followed right in the middle of damn nowhere."

Kurama said nothing to Yuske's remark as he kept his eyes fixed upon the crowd about them. He didn't want to make it a big deal about it until the creatures show themselves or cause problems. All the fox demon was getting were sickening sounds of the dead, and he couldn't come to any conclusion with that. Bringing his attention back to his menu, Kurama tried to shake off the growing sounds of the undead about him, wishing to enjoy the remainder of the evening.

--

The moon began to rise over the horizon of the vast sea as the hours passed throughout the night. Touya had curled up on the bed he and Jin were sharing to rest off dinner while Jin watched the latest show on TV. When he awoke, however, Jin was nowhere to be found. The space next to the ice demon was void though still slightly warm from where his companion was last resting. Pulling the covers off of him, Touya slipped his feet into his slippers before straightening out his messy clothes he slept within by accident, heading for the door of their room to make it out into the hallway.

Darkness loamed over the endless hallways of the cruise ship the demon was upon. It put a slight unsettling feeling within the pit of his stomach as he was reminded of the time he spent an eternity within the darkness of Makai. As Touya turned down one of the many hallways littered with rooms, a sudden gust of air rushed down the dark corridor to blow harshly upon his face before dissipating behind him.

"Hello?" Touya called as he knew nothing of human nature could have caused such a strong gust of air as he was on the middle deck. "Jin, is that you?"

A sickening laughter started to rebound off of the walls at that moment followed by a deep growling sound—as if a dog of some kind was threatening to unleash his fury upon the demon.

At that moment, Touya jumped back and got into a defensive stance, his narrow eyes darting about the darkness quickly. "Whoever you are, you better go back to wherever you came from! I am tired of your mind games!"

The laughter continued at the ice demon's threats before the name '_Jin'_ seemed to be hissed several times upon the wind currents that were still brushing against Touya from time to time.

The sound of the name was so vague and was such an inaudible whisper that Touya was unable to catch it at first. But once the word registered, his eyes flew open and he ran blindly down the hallways. "Jin…!" As he tore through the hallway mazes, he managed to make it out to the main room where the laughter and haunting voices were becoming unbearable. Touya couldn't help but stop for a moment to cover his ears as the scenery set before him was starting to bend and distort, making him sick to his stomach. His shaking hand managing to grab onto the stair banister close by, he spun around quickly to crawl and pull himself up the stairs in attempts to make it to the top deck.

Touya managed to make it to the door, which would lead outside of the ship's upper deck. Leaning against it with all his might, he pushed it open, falling upon the floor to breathe heavily and with sweat beading his forehead. It was at that moment that the tormenting sounds ceased, but the experience wouldn't leave the ice master's mind. He remained there upon the cold deck until hands touched his shoulders, causing him to jolt slightly and come to his senses.

"Touya—Touya," Jin called softly, shaking his partner awake. "What is the matter? What happened!" He exclaimed softly between the two of them as he knelt down beside him.

Coughing harshly, Touya brought himself slowly up to his knees with Jin's help. "I…I don't know. Did you not experience anything weird on your way out here?"

Jin shook his head slowly with his mouth slightly parted in wonder.

Cupping his forehead within his hand, Touya shook his head to try and regain his senses before making it to his feet steadily as he still felt woozy. "What are you doing out here?" He felt need to ask as he wanted to change the subject. "I woke up and you were gone."

The wind demon kept a gentle yet firm grip on his partner's shoulders, turning to face the sea stretching for miles out before them. "I wanted to come out here to look at the ocean. I got tired of looking at it from the balcony, so I came out here." With Touya soon joining him, Jin smiled down at the ice master with his wild red hair waved about in the passing ocean currents. "It's beautiful, don't you think?"

Touya overlapped his arms upon the chilly railing to gaze out at the sea as well, humming in agreement. "It's a shame Makai rarely has such sights."

Jin chuckled softly down at the short demon beside him. "That doesn't mean we cannot enjoy it while the time lasts."

Hearing Jin say that prompted Touya to look up at the wind master as he felt something hinted within those words. Jin was leaning in towards his partner in attempt to kiss him. Touya almost hesitated at first, pulling slightly back causing Jin to pause for a moment. Closing his eyes slowly, Touya tilted his head to the side as did Jin to allow their lips to meet.

The chill of Touya's lips made Jin's hair stand on end, but he said nothing of it knowing it was just his partner's nature to come with such a cold touch. Wrapping his arms about Touya's back, Jin deepened the kiss by parting his partner's mouth with his tongue. The smell and taste of the ice demon's breath encouraged him to do so, with a pink tint painted across his cheeks.

Touya complied with Jin's actions by opening his mouth to accept the prying tongue of his companion. However, during that moment, a woman screaming broke the tranquil moment, forcing Touya to pull from Jin quickly. "What was that?" He asked quickly, wiping the corner of his mouth.

Jin sighed at being interrupted, pulling back as well to look about the boat with a shrug. "I don't know. Maybe it was nothing."

He was aware that Jin was only interested in getting back to where they left off, causing Touya to roll his eyes at Jin and place his fingers upon his partner's oncoming lips. "Humans don't scream for nothing, love. Come on; let's see what's going on."

Rolling his eyes with another sigh, Jin hurried after Touya towards the door, which would lead them downstairs to the main deck. Once they made it off the last stair, a strange mist could be seen consuming the area. Jin slightly stood above it as Touya was right in it, causing the short ice master to cough and cover his mouth.

"My word, what is this mess!" He exclaimed behind his hands, feeling sick to his stomach once more.

Jin took off the scarf he had hanging about his neck to protect himself against the chilly winds to wrap about Touya's mouth. "It is a gas of some kind! I recognize it…but I don't know where from." Taking a step forward through the thick, noxious gas, Jin stumbled upon something lying upon the floor, causing him to fall forward onto the floor with a thud. Using his demonic sight to pierce through the thick cloud of gas, he was more than appalled to see a human woman lying there with her eyes wide open and white with the skin of the human slowly decaying.

Hurrying to his feet, Jin brought his arm up to his mouth to prevent himself from screaming at the sight. "The Undead Plague!" He exclaimed behind his arm.

"What!" Touya exclaimed in wonder, keeping the scarf about his mouth. "Are you sure!"

"They followed us here, Touya!" Jin continued in worry as he grabbed onto Touya's arm to hurry him towards Kurama and Yuske. "We've got to warn the others!"

Once they disappeared around the corner, bodies began to slowly rise up from the thick gas. Moans of the undead erupted down the hallways and began to grow louder every passing second with how quickly the infectious gas was spreading. The two former shinobis ran as quickly as they could over the bodies already overtaken, hoping to make it to their room before they were to rise back to life. However, one of the hands of the undead animated quickly before the others and managed to grab onto the ankle of Touya, bringing the ice master down upon his front.

Jin stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Touya hit the floor. Turning around quickly, he cried out his name, "Touya!"

Touya looked over his shoulder as the undead male steadily rose up, gazing angrily at the demon with white oculars. When the male snarled at Touya, blood could be seen marrying with his teeth. Panicking at the sight, Touya shifted his attention up at Jin pleadingly. "Jin, help!"

Running over towards his partner, Jin smashed the brittle head of the undead human with his foot, making it shatter and blood to spray forth upon his leg. Jin bent down to grab Touya's hand to help him to his feet. "Come on, Touya; come on!"

Yuske was dead asleep, snoring upon the covers of the bed he was sharing with Kurama. Kurama was reading a book of his in the candlelight—the candles coming from his own luggage as he preferred it over lamps. The candles, however, suddenly began to flicker violently as a name hissed upon the wind. _Kurama_, it said, causing the redhead to quickly turn his attention from the pages of his novel to the door not too far from where he was sitting upon the bed with Yuske.

Removing his glasses and closing his book, he kept his focus upon the door where his name was continuing to come from. A stern frown across his face, Kurama looked over at his sleeping partner for a moment before bothering to get to his feet to slowly make it towards the mahogany door. With every step he took, his name was called louder, making Kurama's hair stand on end as the eerie voice was unfamiliar to him. His hand steadily reaching for the doorknob, he finally gripped onto it to slowly open it to view out into the hallway with his rose whip ready.

"Who's there?" Kurama demanded to know as he side-stepped into the hallway.

Standing there within the dark corridor, which was dead silent, Kurama couldn't help but feel something was staring him down from behind. He didn't turn around quickly, keeping his ground with his fist clutching his weapon tightly. When he felt a moist air breathe across his neck, Kurama quickly spun around at ready to fight only to find nothing there. His keen smelling, however, was able to pick up a distant scent of rotting flesh—of death.

"Something happened," he said full of surprise to himself, taking off down the corridor to his left further up the hall he was within.

Kurama tore down the halls littered all around him before stopping at the thick gas he could see accumulating throughout the deck suddenly. He took one step back as the poisonous vapor appeared to have a mind of its own with the speed it was traveling at. The sound of the undead began to echo throughout the halls suddenly, making Kurama gasp at the realization of what was going on.

"It can't be…!" He murmured to himself.

From the darkness came three undead humans at blinding, inhuman speed with their rotted teeth trying to tear away at the fox demon. The fox demon was quick to react as he swung his whip to tear through their bodies, making them break apart and splatter their contaminated blood upon the floor of the hall. Kurama didn't flinch as he watched them die there upon the floor before him.

"Kurama!" Jin's voice could be heard throughout the halls, catching the demon's attention.

"Jin—Touya!" He said aloud in worry. Jumping over the undead bodies that had yet to animate from the plague spreading throughout the ship, he made his way quickly to the sound of fighting.

Touya channeled his powers to try and stop the hordes of undead now rising up in attempts to attack them with Jin protecting him with his wind barrier. When it was acknowledged that there were too many of them, Touya quickly raised up his arms to beckon forth the ice shards from the floor he had taken over with his freezing climate control causing him to skewer many of the undead.

"Touya!" Kurama called once he made it into the fray, unleashing his rose pedals upon the oncoming dead. "What is going on!"

"It's the Undead Plague," Jin announced. "Our past has followed us here!"

"Where is Yuske?" Touya asked over Jin's roaring wind currents he would on occasion unleash down the hallways.

"He is still in our bedroom!" Kurama answered loudly in return. "I left him there not expecting to walk out into this! We have to go back for him!"

A wicked laughter bellowed down the dark halls at the demons conversing amongst one another. "The plague will reach him before you all have the chance to."

"Who's there!" Kurama growled as he got into a fighting stance at the identical time as the two shinobis.

The lights within deck C slowly flickering on, the weak florescence light shined upon one of the undead creatures. His flesh had partially rotted from his face, showing his skull—his skin the color of mold as was his stringy hair. "One who hates the demons who damned him and his village eons ago!" The man answered vaguely but with such hate.

Kurama was slightly confused as he gazed over at the frightened wind and ice shinobi. "Jin, Touya—what is he talking about?"

Touya sighed somberly as he shook his head. "While in the shinobi, we were hired to let lose a deadly plague upon a village of humans, several years ago. We did what the job entailed, expecting the plague to simply kill them—it did not." His narrow eyes gracing the undead specter at the end of the hall, he recalled the events all too clearly. "Instead, it made them undead, mindless, minions under the control of our client who hired us."

"From what we heard, they eventually grew a free will and bound together to kill the man who did that to them, and also vowed to kill those responsible for unleashing such a fowl plague," Jin concluded seriously.

"And with that, I am here to get revenge for what disaster you placed upon the heads of my people! I will not stop until you suffer the same fate as I have!" The undead man growled angrily as he gathered what energy he could to summon forth more of the undead about his feet. "Arise, my brethren and destroy the demons!"

Seeing more undead creatures rise from the plague filled fog, Jin and Touya stepped back, the wind demon grabbing onto Kurama's shoulder to get his attention. "We have to get Yuske and get out of here! If the plague doesn't get him, a single bite or scratch from these creatures will do it!"

"What about the survivors?" Kurama inquired eagerly, worried for the humans who were now under the control of such a horrible plague.

"Kurama, I am sorry, but we have to go!" Touya insisted, coughing against his upper arm. When Kurama finally turned around to head back to where he left Yuske, Touya sighed softly at the fox demon who appeared upset about the situation. "We didn't mean for this to happen to so many innocent humans, and for that… we are sorry. It appears nobody is safe from our past."

Kurama could only close his eyes momentarily to recall his own past, which appeared to do the same thing to those he loved and cared for. "Trust me, Touya; I know what that's like."

Screams and cries of terror were now filling the entire boat, making it unbearable for Kurama and the others to listen to as they hurried past the undead rising up against them in hopes of making it to Yuske before it was too late. Once they made it to the door, they saw it had been opened and the plague had already swept through. It made everyone gasp in worry at the sight before them, forcing Kurama to run inside of the room to see if Yuske was there.

"Yuske?" He called with worry filling his tone as he saw the room had been disheveled. Looking everywhere in the small room, he found nothing—only several spots of blood splattering the walls and floors. The contaminated smell overwhelmed his senses, making it difficult for him to tell whether or not Yuske had been cut. Not able to find Yuske at all within the room, Kurama hurried back out to the others. "Yuske is not here. I cannot tell if he was injured, but I do know he was ambushed."

"Let's split up and look for him," Jin suggested. "He could be anywhere by now."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Kurama wondered.

As the two redheads spoke amongst themselves about what the next course of action should be, Touya began to cough violently within his hands causing blood to sprinkle upon his pallid palms. Pulling his hands back slowly to witness the blood upon them, he shook his head slowly not wanting to believe he was slowly dying from the curse that had been unleashed about them.

Hearing his partner coughing, Jin looked over at Touya worryingly. "Touya, what is the matter? Are you alright?" He asked, reaching for his wrist as Touya appeared unable to pry his attention away from his palms. Spying the blood upon Touya's hands, Jin inhaled sharply before gazing at him quickly. "Touya, you are infected by the plague!"

"How did this happen!" Kurama exclaimed.

"I walked right into it when Jin and I came down from the upper part of the boat," Touya explained. "I inhaled too much of it…!" He paused for a moment, looking between Kurama and Jin. "I am going to die here…I cannot take the infection outside of this boat for the sake of others."

Jin growled at the hopelessness of the situation. "Not alone, you're not!" Bringing Touya closer to his body so as to place him in a tight embrace, he looked over at Kurama with seriousness in his expression. "Find Yuske—**NOW**! I am not getting off this boat with Touya."

Kurama wasn't above complaining though his heart broke for the two as he hurried off down the eerie halls in hopes of finding the former spirit detective.

Jin kept a firm grip onto Touya as he hurried in the opposite direction as the fox demon. "Come on, Touya; let's find a place to rest in peace for the night…"

"What are you doing, Jin?" Touya asked wearily as he used Jin as a crutch. "You are not infected! You can leave without me."

"I am not leaving without you!" Jin yelled angrily as he continued down the hallway, blowing the gas out of the way with his wind powers. "I will not let them force us apart. Hold onto me." Touya's icy grip clinging tightly onto him, Jin closed his eyes and focused upon his powers, causing the wind about them to swirl aggressively. Opening his eyes quickly, the wind departed from the wind master, rushing throughout every part of the ship in attempts to destroy those he could and to push the plague at bay best he could.

Using his rose whip and all the powers at his command, Kurama tore through the rising undead. The entire ship suddenly shaking violently, he tried to keep his ground as he gazed over his shoulder at the oncoming wind currents the wind demon had unleashed. Inhaling sharply at the unleashed attacked, Kurama jumped out of the way and into a nook to avoid getting hit by objects that the wind had taken with such force.

The undead he was facing were cut through and smashed by the debris upon the wind, making their contaminated blood spray upon the carpeted floor and painted walls as well as the face of Kurama himself. When all settled down, Kurama opened his eyes slowly with a slight sigh of relief. "Goodness, Jin. You could have at least warned everyone."

Stepping back out into the hallway, Kurama made his way to the double doors, which led to the pool area of the boat. He could see clearly now that the blood trail was leading into there. Keeping his whip at his side, he pushed the doors open slowly to peek inside of the darkened room. Many undead bodies littered the cold, tile floor—some of which had not reanimated yet and some of which had been killed by unknown hands.

"Yuske?" Kurama called as he stepped cautiously about the area, making his way to the pool's side to gaze into the water that was pink with contaminated blood spilling into it. "Yuske, are you here?" He called once more quietly so as not to alert the ring leaders behind unleashing the plague.

One of the many doors lining the walls creaked open within the darkness and closed loudly, putting the fox demon on edge as he was unaware which one opened by itself. A low growling noise rebounded off of the walls as one of the fowl dogs, who had been infected by the plague, stepped forth from behind the off guard Kurama. His paws tapping upon the tile, he barked angrily as he lunged towards the back of the demon. Kurama turned around but only too late as he was unable to react in time.

The door, which led to the pool's bar area opened quickly at that moment forcing Yuske to appear. "Kurama, watch out!" He yelled, firing off his spirit gun over his partner's shoulder to hit the dog in the mouth before it could sink its teeth into the demon's flesh.

Kurama stood still as the dog's face exploded upon contact of the spirit weapon, getting more blood upon his face and shirt. Turning around quickly afterwards, he saw it was indeed Yuske at the doorway of the pool bar. He quickly ran over towards Yuske to embrace him tightly. "Thank goodness you are safe…!"

Yuske blushed like crazy at Kurama's greeting, flinching slightly afterwards. "Ouch, okay, okay, I am alright, Kurama! But if you're not careful, you could really damage my spleen!"

"Oh—I am sorry!" Kurama apologized as he pulled back from the injured Yuske. "What happened! I came into our bedroom, and you were gone!"

"I got attacked in the bedroom," Yuske explained, coughing into his hands for a moment as he got to his feet to head back into the bar area he previously was. "I managed to fight them off, but they followed me all the way down here." Looking through the liquor lined upon the shelves, he plucked a few in hopes of making him something to drink.

"Were you bitten or scratched?" Kurama inquired, his hearth beating rapidly in worry.

Yuske couldn't help but laugh briefly. "I cannot count how many times. One of them tore up my back and that is why you need to be careful when hugging me."

Kurama sighed softly as he closed his eyes in despair. "Yuske, do you know what that means…? It means you cannot leave this boat without turning into one of those beasts…"

"I figured that," Yuske stated calmly, grabbing a wine glass. "That is why I intend on enjoying my last few moments here on earth with a drink." Placing the glass down, he smiled briefly at Kurama with a chuckle. "I've seen all the zombie movies. I know how they end and how they work."

Kurama was a bit confused. "You are so calm about it," he pointed out.

"I've faced death before," explained Yuske as he tried to make himself a cosmopolitan. "Besides, at least this time, I am not dying alone."

"Why do you say that?"

Yuske looked over at Kurama with a slight shrug. "Because, I know you wouldn't leave me alone to die and suffer."

Chuckling softly, Kurama made it over to Yuske. His hands gracing Yuske's cheeks, he turned the former detective's face towards his so as to kiss Yuske tenderly.

Yuske stopped paying attention to the drink he was making, a little surprised at the kiss from the half demon. The surprised feeling settling, he ignored the liquor in his hands to turn his attention to his partner so as to kiss him in return.

The large double doors that led into the dinning room opened quickly as Jin hurried Touya inside before closing them quickly behind the oncoming undead. Using his wind, he managed to push a good bit of the tables and chairs against the doors to keep them from coming through. "There—we should be safe here…"

"Jin, you don't have to be here," Touya insisted once more, listening to the forsaken cries outside of the doors. "You can just fly out of here and be free."

Sighing irritably at Touya's remarks, Jin cupped the back of the ice demon's head to bring him closer to himself. He kissed his partner deeply in order to transfer the disease into himself, knowing that it could spread via any fluidly contact.

Touya's eyes were wide with shock as he tried to pull away from Jin, but was unable to.

Pulling back from the kiss he forced upon his companion, he panted softly with a brief smile. "Now you cannot say that. I am nailed here just as much as you are." He wrapped his arms about Touya, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek upon the bi-colored hair of his icy mate. "I told you before, I am not leaving you."

Wrapping his arms about Jin in return, Touya sighed softly as he buried his face into his mate's neck. In a way he was relieved, but didn't want to admit it in fear of sounding weak. He knew that all they could do at that moment was to wait to die together. From where he was standing in Jin's embrace, he could see the center dance floor. He recalled turning down Jin's insinuation of wanting to dance together, but Touya turning him down.

Pulling back gently, he held onto Jin's upper arms. "Come on. I want to take you up on your offer to dance."

"But I thought you said you couldn't dance," Jin whispered between the two of them.

"I can't…but I am willing to try with you."

Jin took Touya's hands within his own as they headed for the center of the dinning room where the dance floor was. Guiding Touya's hand to his back, he placed his own upon the shoulder of the ice demon while his right interlocked with Touya's left. "Alright, just follow my lead," said Jin between the two of them in the dark dinning room.

Touya did as Jin asked, following behind the wind demon's steps as they danced together in the center of the dinning room. After awhile, he came to learn the steps of his partner, prompting him to rest his cheek upon Jin's chest as they continued to dance. "Thank you for being here with me, Jin," he whispered.

Smiling down at Touya, he gazed up at the decorative ceiling for a moment. "You know I would do anything for you."

The two continued to dance into the night, knowing that when the morning sun was to come, they would be under the complete influence of the plague, which had them in its grasp. Knowing that they would be together in the end, the thought didn't worry or frighten them one bit.

END


End file.
